Vacation Bible School is a fantastic way to bring the message of your church to its younger members, while having fun doing it. This is a big responsibility. You are not only responsible for their spiritual growth, you are now in charge of their physical well being.
Follow these tips to ensure that you are able to excel at both:
1) Get Extra Support
You are going to need helping hands for your Vacation Bible School. This starts with a great facility or campground, plus donations and volunteers that will be able to attend and assist with the children. Use a church notification system such as DialMyCalls to recruit volunteers and even make fundraising plans to obtain the necessary funding.
2) Choose the Right Curriculum
Having a structured plan for what you will be sharing with the children and ideas for activities that fall in line with your church will make things run more smoothly. This will give you a base for which to plan your Vacation Bible School around.
3) Promote Your Vacation Bible School
Once you have the place and the supplies you need to recruit your campers. Place fliers around your church, ask the church youth group leaders if you can stop by during a meeting to promote, and have an ad placed in the church newsletter. This is also another opportunity where the church notification system mentioned above could be used to send an SMS text message to church members, letting them know of the upcoming camp schedule and inviting them to join you.
4) Gather Essential Information at Registration
Prepare an extensive registration form that includes contact information, allergies, medications, etc. The more you have on hand about each child in your care, the better prepared you will be to ensure their welfare. Ask the parents to update their cell phone numbers so that you can contact them in case of emergency, or just to send updates on how the kids are doing.
5) Make Sure You Have Enough Volunteers
Once you know how many children will be attending, make sure you have enough adult volunteers to help supervise. The number per child will vary depending on the age, with younger children needing more supervision than others. Ensure that the volunteers you choose hold the same values that you are representing in your Vacation Bible School to avoid any conflict.
6) Plan Fun Activities
It is summertime and kids are expecting to have fun when they go to VBS. You can plan arts and crafts, hiking and even sporting events while keeping in line with your Bible studies. This will ensure that the kids have such an enjoyable time that they look forward to Vacation Bible School next year.
Church leaders and members who take on the challenge of organizing and executing Vacation Bible School are to be commended for their efforts. This is a big undertaking that can be made easier if you stay focused and organized. Following these tips will not only help make sure that the kids grow spiritually it ensures that they stay safe and have fun.
